Fall Into Los Coches Creek Results in Injuries

Flinn Springs: On Sunday, May 22, 2011, at 4:24p.m., the Lakeside Fire District received a call of a juvenile that had fallen into Los Coches Creek inside of Flinn Springs Park. A rescue company and ALS medic unit were sent to the scene. En route, crews received an update that the USFS Laguna Hotshots were on-scene with the patient.

Crews from Lakeside and the Laugna Hotshots work to stabilize the patient.

On arrival, crews met with members of the hotshot crew and received a status update. EMT's on the hotshot crew had accessed the area and initiated an assessment and treatment of the patient. It was determined that the patient had potential spinal injuries and a possible arm fracture. Also complicating matters was the patient's partial submersion in cold water which can quickly result in hypothermia.

The patient is removed from the area and taken to the awaiting medic unit for transport.

After stabilization, both the Lakeside and USFS crews lifted the patient out of the rough terrain which consists of large boulders. The patient was transported via Lakeside Medic 3 to Children's Trauma for evaluation.

It was fortunate for this patient that the Laguna Hotshots happened to be near the incident and could immediately start patient care.

Submitted By: Fire Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District